James Larkin
Melanoma and kidney cancer trialist who co-led CheckMate 067, the trial with 10-year immunotherapy survival data.
James Larkin was a lead investigator of CheckMate 067 (nivolumab plus ipilimumab in melanoma) and CheckMate 9ER in renal cell carcinoma, shaping first-line immunotherapy in both diseases.
| Title | Journal | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Five-year survival with combined nivolumab and ipilimumab in advanced melanoma (CheckMate 067) | NEJM | 2019 |
Before 2011 median survival in metastatic melanoma was under a year; this trial shows that roughly half of patients treated with combination checkpoint blockade are now long-term survivors, effectively cured. It anchors first-line treatment of advanced melanoma and sets the benchmark for every new regimen, including nivolumab-relatlimab. The combination's toxicity means nivolumab alone or newer doublets remain reasonable for some patients.
For patients with advanced melanoma, immunotherapy offers a realistic chance of long-term survival and probably cure, and the ten-year data show that patients who are alive and progression-free at three years rarely die of melanoma afterwards. Nivolumab plus ipilimumab gives the best long-term results but at a high price in serious side effects; nivolumab alone or nivolumab plus relatlimab are alternatives for patients at lower risk or with autoimmune concerns. The trial is also a caution about surrogate endpoints: the survival plateau took years to become visible.